The ability of electronic devices to provide ordinary users with opportunities to exercise their creative abilities has never been greater. Many users have portable devices with great ability to record sound, and to record still and moving images. Devices with greater capability may be larger and more complex than commonly used portable devices, but larger and more complex recording devices are more capable, smaller, and less expensive than ever before.
However, the abilities of users to control and manage devices typically have not kept pace with the rapid increase in capability of these devices. This is particularly true in the case of devices that allow for creative expression. Many phenomena, such as recorded sound, include subtle characteristics and variations, and such phenomena can be played back in a more interesting and pleasing manner if a user has the ability to properly direct and shape the recording and playback. However, many devices that provide the ability to manage the recording of sound have complex interfaces that require considerable skill, and the inherent complexity of the task also tends to call for skill beyond that of the average user of an electronic device.